Retail Card Package

ABSTRACT

A packaging assembly and a method for assembling a package include a sheet precut and folded along scored lines to form a protruding portion defining a cavity within which a product is received and a planar, sealed portion extending from the protruding portion. In addition, a package assembly including a protruding portion defining a cavity within which a product is to be received and a planar, sealed portion extending from the protruding portion. The packager assembly includes a sheet including a first portion configured to be folded to form a first side of the package assembly from which the protruding portion extends and a second portion forming a second, planar side of the package assembly opposite the first side of the package assembly, the first portion foldable toward and sealable against the second portion to define the protruding portion and the sealed portion.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Retail packaging requirements can vary depending on the product being sold as well as the retail environment in which the product is being sold. Factors to consider when products are being sold at big box retailers, for example, include marketing, store presentation and theft reduction. Other factors to consider may include environmental concerns as well as a cost of manufacturing the packaging. For example, some retailers may prefer to limit certain plastic materials in their packaging in an effort to reduce plastic pollution. However, reducing the use of plastic while maintaining suitable product presentation in a cost-effective manner may be difficult.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments include a package assembly. The package assembly includes a sheet precut and folded along scored lines to form a protruding portion defining a cavity within which a product is received and a planar, sealed portion extending from the protruding portion.

Exemplary embodiments also include a package assembly including a protruding portion defining a cavity within which a product is to be received and a planar, sealed portion extending from the protruding portion. The package assembly includes a sheet including a first portion configured to be folded to form a first side of the package assembly from which the protruding portion extends and a second portion forming a second, planar side of the package assembly opposite the first side of the package assembly, the first portion foldable toward and sealable against the second portion to define the protruding portion and the sealed portion.

Exemplary embodiments also include a method for assembling a package. The method includes folding a first portion of a sheet along scored lines to form a protruding portion defining a cavity, folding the first portion of the sheet toward a second portion of the sheet, and sealing the first portion against the second portion to fix the protruding portion and form a sealed portion extending from the protruding portion, the sealed portion being substantially planar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an assembled packaging according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the assembled packaging according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a sheet of material used to form the assembled packaging according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an assembled packaging according to an alternate embodiment;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an assembled packaging according to another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 show a side view of the assembled packaging according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of a sheet of material used to form the assembled packing according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments relate to retail packaging for a product. In particular, exemplary embodiments relate to a packaging assembled via a sheet of material such as, for example, a paper or other plant-based material, configured to be folded and sealed to form a cavity for holding the product. It will be understood by those of skill in the art that although the exemplary embodiments show a packaging assembly having a particular shape and configuration, the sheet of material from which the packaging assembly is formed may be cut and shaped in any of a variety of shapes and sizes to form packaging assemblies including cavities having any of a variety of dimensions and configurations.

According to one exemplary embodiment, a package assembly 100, as shown in FIGS. 1-2, is formed from a sheet 102, as shown in FIG. 3, which may be folded along scored lines 104, 105, 138 extending along portions thereof so that, when folded and sealed, the package assembly 100 forms a cavity 106 defined via a protruding portion 108. Scored lines 104 collectively refers to scored lines 104 a, 104 b, 14 c and 104 d while scored lines 105 collectively refers to scored lines 105 a, 105 b, 105 c, as shown in FIG. 3. The sheet 102 may be formed of paper or other plant-based material. The protruding portion 108 is surrounded via a sealed portion 110. The cavity 106 is sized, shaped and configured to hold and/or display a product. In addition to fixing the cavity 106 in its desired configuration, the sealed portion 110 also provides additional space along which marketing images or information may be printed.

In one embodiment, the protruding portion 108 protrudes from one side (e.g., a front side) of the package assembly 100 so that an opposite side (e.g., a back side) of the packaging assembly 100 is substantially planar. The protruding portion 108 defines an enclosed, substantially rectangular cavity 106 that is configured to hold a product therein. In one embodiment, the cavity 106 is sized and shaped to substantially correspond to the product to be received therein. In another embodiment, the package assembly 100 further includes additional part(s) such as, for example, inserts and/or a fixing mechanism such as, for example, twist ties or zip ties, that may be received within the cavity 106 along with the product to better hold and present the product therein. These additional parts may be particularly useful when, for example, the product is non-uniform in size (e.g., is smaller than a size of the cavity 106 or does not conform to a shape of the cavity 106). The protruding portion 108 may also include an opening 112 extending through a portion thereof so that, when the product is received within the cavity 106, the product is visible to a consumer via the opening 112. The opening 112 may be die cut through the sheet 102 and may have any of a variety of shapes and sizes. The opening 112 may be positioned along any portion of the protruding portion 108 to display the contents of the cavity 106. In one embodiment, a transparent material such as, for example, a sheet of plastic, may extend over the opening 112 to protect the product within the cavity 106.

As described above, the package assembly 100 also includes the sealed portion 110 extending about the protruding portion 108. In one embodiment, the sealed portion 110 extends from three edges of the protruding portion 108. It will be understood by those of skill in the art, however, that the sealed portion 110 may extend from any edge of the protruding portion 108 and may have any of a variety of shapes and sizes. The sealed portion 110 is substantially planar to act as a billboard along which marketing material may be printed. The sealed portion 110 also facilitates theft reduction and store presentation. For example, the sealed portion 110 may facilitate receipt of the package assembly 100 within a correspondingly sized and shaped opening of a display tray.

The sheet 102 may be formed of a paper or other plant-based material so as to reduce plastic usage in packaging. In one embodiment the sheet 102 is formed of cardboard and, in particular, a corrugated cardboard. The sheet 102, however, may include any material so long as the sheet 102 is sufficiently rigid to hold the shape of the cavity 106, once folded and sealed, while also being foldable along scored lines 104, 105, 138. As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet 102 is precut to include a first portion 114 which, when folded along scored lines 104 (depicted via dotted lines), defines the side (e.g., front side) of the package assembly 100 from which the protruding portion 108 extends to define the cavity 106, and a second portion 116, which defines the opposite planar side (e.g., back side) of the package assembly 100. As will be described in further detail below, portions of the first and second portions 114, 116 are sealed against one another to form the package assembly 100.

In one embodiment, the first portion 114 includes a substantially rectangular face portion 134 and four side wall portions 136 a, 136 b, 136 c, 136 d (collectively referred to as side walls 136) which, when folded relative to the rectangular face portion 134, form the protruding portion 108 of the package assembly 100. Scored lines 104 a, 104 b, 104 c, 104 d define the four sides of the rectangular face portion 134 so that the four side wall portions 136 may be folded relative to the rectangular face portion 134 therealong. The side walls 136 are folded along the scored lines 104 until corresponding edges 118 defining corners 120 of the package assembly 100 are drawn toward one another to form the protruding portion 108. In one embodiment, the side walls 136 are also substantially rectangular. It will be understood by those of skill in the art that opposing ones of the side walls 136 a, 136 c and 136 b, 136 d have the same size and shape to form the substantially rectangular protruding portion 108. It will also be understood by those of skill in the art that the dimensions of the rectangular face portion 134 and the side walls 136 determine the dimensions of the cavity 106 defined via the protruding portion 108.

The first portion 114 also includes mating portions 126 a, 126 b, 126 c (collectively referred to as mating portions 126) extending from corresponding ones of the side walls 136. The mating portions 126 are foldable relative to a corresponding one of the side walls 136 along scored lines 105 a, 105 b, 105 c so that, when sealed against the second portion 116, the mating portions 126 a-126 c form the sealed portion 110 of the package assembly 100. It will be understood by those of skill in the art that the mating portions 126 are folded relative to corresponding side walls 136 along scored lines 105 in an opposite direction than along the scored lines 104. Interior edges 124 of adjacent mating portions 126 a-126 c are aligned and the first portion 114 is folded toward the second portion along scored line 138 so that the mating portions 126 of the first portion 114 may be sealed against the second portion 116 to fix the protruding portion 108 in the desired configuration and to form the sealed portions 110 of the package assembly 102. It will be understood by those of skill in the art that a size and shape of each of the mating portions 126 may vary depending on a desired shape, size and configuration of the sealed portion 110.

In one embodiment, the second portion 116 may have a substantially rectangular shape. It will be understood by those of skill in the art that the dimensions of the second portion 116 may vary depending on desired dimensions for the protruding portion 108 and the sealed portions 110. As shown, the second portion 116 and portions of the first portion 114 may have rounded corners so that corners of the sealed edges 132 of the package assembly 100 are also rounded to prevent injury. Although the exemplary embodiments show and describe three mating portions 126 a, 126 b. 126 c, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that the first portion 114 may include four mating portions, each mating portion extending from a corresponding one of the four side walls 136 a-136 d.

It will be understood by those of skill in the art that exterior edges 128 of mating portions 126 of the first portion 114 and edges 130 of the second portion 116 will align to form sealed edges 132 of the package assembly 100. The mating portions 126 may be sealed to the second portion 116 via sealing methods including, for example, cold seal, hot seal and hot melt processes. It will be understood by those of skill in the art that prior to sealing the mating portions 126 of the first portion 114 with the second portion 116, the product and any additional parts (e.g., inserts, ties) for holding the product will be inserted into the cavity 106 for sealing therewithin.

As described above, marketing material including, for example, relevant images and product information, may be printed along the sealed portion 110. Since, however, the entire exterior of the package assembly 102 is comprised of the same sheet material, marketing material may be printed along any portion of the package assembly 100, including the protruding portion 108 and the planar opposite side formed via the second portion 116 of the sheet 102.

The sheet 102 may include any of a variety of shapes and sizes and include scored lines 104 in any of a variety of positions to form a protruding portion 108 and sealed portion 110 of the package assembly 100 having any of variety of dimensions. As described above, the first portion 114 of the sheet 102 may also include the opening 112 extending therethrough so that, once folded and sealed to form the package assembly 102, the opening 112 extends through the protruding portion 108. In one embodiment, the opening 112 extends through the face portion 134 of the sheet 102. According to one example, the opening 112 may extend through both the opening 112 and one or more of the side walls 136. As described above, a plastic sheet may be affixed over the opening 112 to cover and/or protect the product received within the formed cavity 106.

It will be understood by those of skill in the art that although the exemplary embodiments show and describe one sheet 102 for forming the package assembly 102, the package assembly may be comprised of one or more sheets. For example, in another embodiment, the first and second portions 114, 116, as described above, may be configured as two separate sheets of material.

According to an alternate embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a package assembly 100′ may be substantially similar to the package assembly 100, as described above, comprising a protruding portion 108′ defining a cavity 106′ and a sealed portion 110′ extending about the protruding portion 108′ In this embodiment, however, the sealed portion 110′ extends along all four edges of a substantially rectangularly shaped protruding portion 108′. As also described above with respect to the package assembly 100, however, a size and shape of both the protrusion 108′ and the sealed portion 110′ extending thereabout may vary, as desired. Thus, it will be understood by those of skill in the art, that the protruding portion 108′ may protrude from any position along a first side (e.g., front) of the package assembly 100′ relative to the sealed portion 110′. For example, the protruding portion 108′ may be centered, left justified, right justified, etc. The package assembly 100′ may be formed by folding and sealing a sheet (not shown) substantially similar to the sheet 102. As will be understood by those of skill in the art, however, a first portion of the sheet for forming the package assembly 100′ will include a fourth mating portion so that when folded and sealed, as described above, the sealed portion 110′ extends about each of the four edges of the protruding portion 108′.

A package assembly 200, as shown in FIGS. 5-6, may be substantially similar to the package assembly 100 (or 100′), as described above. The package assembly 200 is assembled by folding a sheet 202, as shown in FIG. 7, along scored lines 204, 205, 238 (depicted via dotted lines) and sealing mating portions 226 of a first portion 214 of the sheet 214 with a second portion of the sheet 216 to form a protruding portion 208 defining a cavity 206 in which a product may be received, and a sealed portion 210 surrounding the sealed portion 208. Similarly to the sheet 102, the first portion 214—when folded along the scored lines 204 and sealed against the second portion 216 substantially as described above with respect to the system 100—defines a side (e.g., front side) of the package assembly 200 from which the protruding portion 208 extends, while the second portion 216 defines an opposite side (e.g., back side) that is substantially planar. Rather than including an opening extending through the first portion 214, however, the sheet 202 includes an opening 212 extending through the second portion 216 so that the product received within the cavity 206 is shown through the planar side of the package assembly 200. It will be understood by those of skill in the art that the sheet 202 may be folded along scored lines 204, 205 and 238 to form the package assembly 200 in a substantially similar manner to the package assembly 100, as described above.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent. 

1. A package assembly, comprising: a sheet precut and folded along scored lines to form a protruding portion defining a cavity within which a product is received and a planar, sealed portion extending from the protruding portion.
 2. The package assembly of claim 1, wherein the protruding portion extends from a first side of the package assembly so that a second side of the package assembly opposite the first side is substantially planar.
 3. The package assembly of claim 1, further comprising an opening extending through a portion of the sheet so that the product received within the cavity is visible though the opening.
 4. The package assembly of claim 3, further comprising a transparent plastic sheet extending over the opening to protect the product received within the cavity.
 5. The package assembly of claim 1, further comprising an insert configured to be received within the cavity to hold and merchandise the product therewithin, wherein the product includes a non-uniform size.
 6. The package assembly of claim 5, wherein the insert further includes a fixing mechanism.
 7. The package assembly of claim 6, wherein the fixing mechanism includes a zip tie or a twist tie.
 8. The package assembly of claim 1, wherein the sealed portion is configured to be printed with marketing material.
 9. The packaging assembly of claim 2, wherein the sheet includes a first portion defining the first side of the package assembly and a second portion defining the second side of the package assembly, the first portion sealed against the second portion to form the protruding portion and the sealed portion.
 10. The packaging assembly of claim 9, wherein the first portion is sealed against the second portion via one of a cold seal, heat seal, or a hot melt process.
 11. The packaging assembly of claim 9, wherein the first portion includes a substantially rectangular face portion and a side wall extending from each side of the face portion, each side wall folded relative to the face portion along a scored line to define the protruding portion.
 12. The packaging assembly of claim 11, wherein the first portion includes mating portions extending from at least three of the side walls, each mating portion folded relative to a corresponding one of the side walls along a scored line and sealed against the second portion to define the sealed portion.
 13. A package assembly including a protruding portion defining a cavity within which a product is to be received and a planar, sealed portion extending from the protruding portion, comprising: a sheet including a first portion configured to be folded to form a first side of the package assembly from which the protruding portion extends and a second portion forming a second, planar side of the package assembly opposite the first side of the package assembly, the first portion foldable toward and sealable against the second portion to define the protruding portion and the sealed portion.
 14. The packaging assembly of claim 13, wherein the first portion includes a substantially rectangular face portion and a side wall extending from each side of the face portion, each side wall folded relative to the face portion along a scored line to define the protruding portion.
 15. The packaging assembly of claim 14, wherein the first portion includes mating portions extending from at least three of the side walls, each mating portion folded relative to a corresponding one of the side walls along a scored line and sealed against the second portion to define the sealed portion.
 16. The package assembly of claim 15, wherein the first portion is sealable against the second portion via one of a cold seal, heat seal, or a hot melt process.
 17. A method for assembling a package, comprising: folding a first portion of a sheet along scored lines to form a protruding portion defining a cavity; folding the first portion of the sheet toward a second portion of the sheet; and sealing the first portion against the second portion to fix the protruding portion and form a sealed portion extending from the protruding portion, the sealed portion being substantially planar.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein folding the first portion of the sheet to form the protruding portion includes folding side walls of the first portion relative to a rectangular face portion of the first portion along scored lines.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein folding the first portion of the sheet to form the protruding portion further includes folding mating portions extending from the side walls relative to the side walls along scored lines so that the mating portions are sealed against the second portion to define the sealed portion.
 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: inserting a product into the cavity prior to sealing the first portion against the second portion.
 21. The method of 17, wherein the first and second portions are sealed against one another via one of a cold seal, hot seal or a hot melt process. 